Power control arrangements are used in aircraft galleys to control and distribute the electrical power received from an aircraft's power feed to the different galley inserts. An aircraft galley can be understood as a rack or shelf providing a plurality of receptacles or compartments for receiving appliances also referred to as galley inserts. Galley inserts include, for example, steam ovens, coffee makers and refrigerators. Which galley inserts are used in a galley differs from aircraft to aircraft and frequently also changes over the lifetime of an aircraft. For example, if the same aircraft is used on short-haul flight where only drinks and snacks are served it requires different galley inserts as if it is used on mid-range flights where warm meals are served.
The power control arrangement is commonly a box placed in one of the compartments of the galley. Inside the box electrical elements such as switches and circuit breakers are placed. These form together with the power input and the power outlets the power control unit of the power control arrangement. The switches and circuit breakers can be controlled by a distribution board or breaker panel providing mechanical interfaces to the switches and circuit breakers. This breaker panel forms the interface unit. Hence, the part of a switch that can be actuated by a user is placed on the circuit breaker panel and the electrical part of the switch or circuit breaker is placed right beneath. The breaker panel forms the visible side of the box, i.e., the breaker panel is the front cover of the housing of the power control arrangement.
Power control arrangements inter alia comprise a main switch. The main switch is provided for turning the power supply on and off by enabling and disabling power supply from the power feed of the aircraft. A mechanical switch is provided on the interface unit of the power control arrangement which can be used by a crew member of the aircraft to turn the power supply on and off. Since the switch needs to be accessible to the aircraft crew at any time, the power control arrangement including its interface unit need to be mounted on the galley in a compartment that is readily accessible to the aircraft's crew.
The power control arrangements further comprise a plurality of power outlets for connecting different galley inserts to the power control arrangements. For safety reasons each power outlet is provided with a circuit breaker. The circuit breakers need to be adapted or configured to the power requirements of the gallery insert connected to the respective power outlet. For example, a steam oven for heating food has a different power requirement than a refrigerator unit. Hence, the power control arrangement needs to be installed such that the circuit breakers can be easily exchanged whenever a galley insert is replaced. Further, the breaker panel which serves as the interface unit comprises a switch for each circuit breaker enabling a crew member to reconnect a galley insert after power to the galley insert has been cut by the circuit breaker.
The power control arrangement is also used to distribute the power from the power feed of the aircraft to the different galley inserts. However, the power control arrangement is not a purely passive power distributor but needs to be actively controlled by the crew of an aircraft since the total electric power available for a galley may not be sufficient to supply all galley inserts at the same time. For example, it may not be possible to supply all steam ovens simultaneously with full power if also the coffee and hot water makers are running. Thus, the power control arrangement comprises a power distributor. The power distributor can be understood as a switch which enables a crew to select subsets of galley inserts that are simultaneously supplied with electric power. Power distributors are commonly implemented in the form of rotary control switches. Since such switches are mechanical devices, they need to be readily accessible for the aircraft crew and the entire power control arrangement has to be arranged adjacent to a front section of the galley such that it is accessible to the crew. Note that the power distributor needs to be replaced or at least rewired whenever a galley insert is replaced with a different kind of galley insert.